it's not clear yet whether this 49—hour spill will be considered to be legal or not. southern water was fined £90 million for unlawful discharges injuly. but it's notjust in hampshire that this is happening. a sewage treatment plant less than a mile from where i'm standing in wallingford in oxfordshire discharged untreated sewage into this stretch of the river thames for 993 hours last year. the government has been under pressure from people taking to the streets, and from inside parliament, to ensure that water companies are legally required to reduce sewage discharges. tonight, the government gave in. we've listened to the debate that took place in parliament and we will write what is already government policy into the statutes to give people that reassurance they seek. what everyone agrees on is that britain's victorian water system needs fixing, but it will cost